Fakin' Da' Funk

Maybe looks shouldn't matter - but they do.
Barbie is looking pretty good for being 50.
Before the introduction of Barbie, most models in magazines were about 5'2" and roundish.
After Barbie... ?

People like to say that the Barbie ideal is seen as desirable because it reflects a healthy physique.
But studies are now suggesting that having a fat bottom could be in a woman's best interest.
http://www.topnews.in/healthcare/content/-2686having-big-bottom-can-cut-diabetes-risk
J-Lo, Shakira, Kim Kardasian and Beyonce have made the callipygian ideal more desirable and acceptable to the mainstream.
It wasn't too long ago that it was reported that Janet Jackson had liposuction to remove her naturally round hips. And that was during the apex of her popularity.

Whether someone is good looking or not is usually just some one's subjective opinion.
Ask my friends whether I'm ugly and most of them will say "yes".
But ask their wives, girlfriends, sisters, mothers or daughters and almost all will say that I'm not.
It usually comes down to what was taught to be the ideal

I can't stand Mo'Nique - but Sheryl Lee Ralph is sexy.
I think Rhianna is kinda' ugly - but still sexy.
(But not ugly like Brandy - who looks like a trout.)
I think Beyonce is pretty but not sexy (I don't know... maybe it's that country accent that puts me off.)
I think Halle Berry is pretty and beautiful but nowhere near sexy. And when she tries to play sexy in a movie... I'll pass.
That lady in Baby Boy, Hustle and Flow and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Taraji P. Henson) is cute.
IMO -
Pretty - Good to look at.
Beautiful - Good to collect.
Sexy - I would hit that.
Cute - I'd take care of her.
Ugly - I'll pass
But women hate to be called cute.

But what we are often told is attractive is really just someone trying to force a new view of beauty on the masses.

Lisa Leslie - Nope
But Candace Parker - Yes

Jackie Joyner Kersee - Nope
But Flo-Jo - Yes

Oprah - (Have you seen The Color Purple ?) Nope.

But these women developed skills that would allow them to compensate for their unfortunate looks.
Instead of trying to change the rules of beauty, they understood them and developed traits that would allow them to succeed in a looks based society.

The women from the movie Maybe He's Just Not That Into You is another case of forced beauty.
Jennifer Connelly looks kind of dirty. Like Helena Bonham Carter, she looks like she just needs a good bath.
Jennifer Aniston is okay but has to truly realize that Brad upgraded when he chose Angelina.
Drew Barrymore has that forehead and jaw line that makes her look like one of the statues from Easter Island.
Of the cast, only Scarlett Johanson is good looking.

But again - looks are primarily based on what one is used to or has learned to idealize.
I've always confused Michelle Pfeifer with Melanie Griffith, who I would confuse with Meg Ryan.
Or Reese Witherspoon with Claire Danes, who I would confuse with Julia Stiles.
Pheifer and Danes are the only ones approaching any type hotness.
But I still confuse the lot of them.

Many men have a fetish for Asian girls.
This is largely due to fact that they haven't seen enough of them to judge them as individuals.
Believe me, like other races and ethnicities - there are a lot of ugly ass Asian women.
The only Asian women most men have seen are the ones in movies.

If I were to just look at Bollywood films, Asian Indian women would be the hottest women on the planet.
Every one of them would be seen as having the same traits as those on the screen.
My limited exposure to only the best looking women would influence my views of all.
If I were to only look at all of the Black "Mammy" and slave characters in old movies, my opinions would be shaped in a negative way by these images too.

But understanding that looks are usually only a subjective measurement - on the whole, preferences exist.
But to all the ugly ladies who feel the need to post a sexy(?) photo of yourself on YouTube/FaceBook/MySpace and trying to lie to yourself that you are hot -
Please... stop fakin' da' funk.
(If I hear one more obese and ugly lady who sits on her couch watching the judges while criticizing someone like Beyonce's little sister Solange about her looks or her level of success, I'm going to snap. "B**** please, you're a beast!" is what I'll say.)